Sincerity
by Trajectory of Simplicity
Summary: ANB. Three moments shared to know they love you. RioNeil.


It was early Saturday morning and the sun hadn't even risen yet. Rio didn't really care; she had always been a morning person, waking up long before dawn to make sure she caught the sunrise. For the past few weeks, however, she hasn't been watching the sunrise, and instead has been spending her mornings jogging from her farm to a certain animal seller's home to bother him.

She never came without some sort of compensation, carrying some of his favorite Yak Milk in her hands just so he wasn't _too_ angry about being bothered by her. Honestly, waking him up in the mornings has become her favorite pastime, even more than watching the sunrise. She giggled when she thought of his messy mop of blonde hair and his sleepy, droopy eyes as he did his best to be angry at her, but never really succeeding. Early morning Neil just couldn't get his grumpy act right. It usually takes him at least until the sun comes up before he gets his glare game on.

"Neil," she sang, "I've got you a present!"

But she didn't get the reaction she was looking for. He was already up, dressed and ready for the day. He was sitting at his table, calmly sipping his coffee.

Rio pouted, "Well, that's boring. You're already up."

He grunted a little before saying, "I made you hot chocolate. It's in the microwave."

Immediately the farmer's face lit up and she practically danced over to his kitchen to get her treat. "Hey, do you have marshmallow—? Oh! You already put them in for me!" Rio laughed as she sat across from him at his table, holding the mug in her hands. "You're starting to get soft, Grumpy. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were _preparing_ for me to get here!"

"You're earlier than I thought you would be," Neil said, taking a sip from his coffee. "But I still managed to make it in time."

"So you _were_ preparing for me!" Rio clasped her hands at her chest dramatically. "I am honored!"

She took a sip of her hot chocolate before saying, "I'm a little bummed I didn't get to wake you up, though. You're always so cute trying to glare at me when your brain isn't even functioning properly yet."

Neil just sighed. "It's too early to get angry at you. Finish your hot chocolate so you can start doing your chores."

"By the way, Bessie's been really missing you," Rio said, suddenly, completely changing the topic. "I was brushing her yesterday and she looked so sad." She paused before adding, "I think all my animals miss you. You haven't been visiting."

"I've been busy the past few weekends," was all he said.

"No kidding! After I wake you up in the morning, I don't see you all day!" Rio sighed and stirred her chocolate. "It was starting to get a little lonely."

Neil didn't say anything, but she didn't miss the tint of red on his cheeks as he tried to cover it up by taking a sip of his coffee. "I'll make sure to start visiting more, alright?"

Rio beamed at that as she happily drank her hot chocolate.

The two sat in comfortable silence for a bit. When Rio brought the mug up to her mouth, she felt something hit her lip. Taking a look inside, she noticed something bobbing up in the surface before sinking down again. Confused, she reached in a finger, "Neil? I think there's something—"

She took it out and stared.

She looked at Neil, who was just calmly sipping his coffee, barely reacting to her. Then, she looked at the object in her hand. She glanced at Neil again, then back at the object. She did this a few more times before she tentatively asked, "Neil, why is there a ring in my hot chocolate?"

Neil put down his mug and looked at her seriously, the red on his cheeks deepening a little. "Because I'm asking you to be my girlfriend."

Rio nodded, her brain fizzling out. "Oh."

He waited patiently for her.

Suddenly, she was animate again. "WAIT, _what?_ " She glanced back and forth from the ring to her companion multiple times before shouting, "Y-your _girlfriend?_ "

He frowned, and since it was Neil, it looked more like an angry scowl. "Would it be so bad?"

"Well—I mean…no…but…!" she stammered. "I mean, it's so early in the morning, I'm barely dressed. I'm in my stupid dirty overalls that probably look like I'd been wallowing in mud the past few days…! I mean, I was since it was raining and I still had my chores to do, but still! My hair is all messy and—"

"Rio," Neil interrupted. She immediately shut up. "Yes or no?"

She opened her mouth and closed it a few times, probably looking like a suffocating fish, but not really caring. Then, she blushed and bit her lip, ducking her head. "Yes," she squeaked out.

Neil let out a huge sigh, then leaned back with his coffee, a smile playing on his lips. "I was worried for a second that you would say no."

Rio shook her head a little, a grin spreading across her cheeks. "I wouldn't have said no. I've liked you for the past year."

He paused before saying softly, "Me too."

Rio perked up at that. "Really? Because for the longest time all you did was glare at me and say mean stuff. I thought you hated me!"

Neil shook his head, impossibly embarrassed. "No, I'm just not good with…feelings."

Rio rolled her eyes. "No kidding." But then she wiped the slightly wet ring on a napkin nearby and slipped it on, wiggling her fingers as she admired it. Neil couldn't help but smile at the sight. She caught his eye and grinned. Neil looked away and into his mug. Darn it. It was almost done.

They didn't say anything for a while as Rio finished up her hot chocolate.

"Rio," Neil began, breaking the silence. "I'm not the best at being…" he searched for the right word, "nice," he decided. "But I really do like you." He blushed deeply at that and struggled to come up with the next words. "I'm probably gonna still say some stuff that you won't like, but I'll do my best to change." He stared at his now empty mug, unwilling to look her in the eye. "I really want us to work out," he added.

He was too embarrassed to look at her, but he listened as she pushed away from the table, stood up and walked over to him. She knelt down so that he would be forced to look at her. Her smile was impossibly soft. Neil's heart clenched a little at the sight of it.

Her hand rested on his cheek and he leaned into it a little. "I like you as you are, Neil." She blushed when she added, "I'm so happy right now."

Neil felt giddy, like a kid who got his first dog. His face erupted into a wide smile as he leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers, taking her hands in his own. "I am, too."

* * *

Rio never imagined that Neil would be so…touchy.

It hadn't always been like this. For the first few weeks they were dating, it took them forever just to hold hands, even when they were alone. Neil would be impossibly embarrassed just to walk side by side with her in public. It eventually got to the point where Rio got so frustrated that she had actually screamed at him, "Damn it, Neil, why won't you just _touch_ me!?" It hadn't helped that she had screamed it while they were in Clement's restaurant having what was supposed to be a nice dinner date.

But when Neil said he'd do his best to change, he really meant it and Rio was touched by his sincerity. Even though it was rocky, especially in the beginning, Neil would always do his best to fix it. That included the touching part of their relationship. Rio had nearly jumped two feet in the air when, after her outburst in the restaurant, Neil had roughly grabbed her hand in his own and walked her to her house, even though all the villagers walking around outside had seen them. Neil's face was red as the Shrimp Chili he liked so much.

Every day after that, he would always try to touch her in some way, whether it's to hold her hand when they were watching a movie at home or bring her into a brief hug before they parted for the night. Rio enjoyed seeing how earnestly he tried to fix his earlier behavior; when he did a job, he did it thoroughly.

After a month or so into their relationship and Neil had gotten more comfortable about touching her, it almost seemed as if he couldn't stop. If they were ever alone together, he'd find some opportunity to either wrap his arms around her torso from behind or bury his head in her shoulder or absentmindedly play with strands of her hair. It had really taken her by surprise. She wasn't used to this much contact, either; people tended to stay away from physical contact since she's usually covered in mud or…other stuff. It wasn't until Neil had started touching her more that she realized she really liked that intimacy.

Three seasons into their relationship and it was their first Starry Night since they got together. Rio was beyond excited. Last time they had gone, they were only friends and it had been probably the most romantic night she had ever been on, solidifying her feelings for him and prompting her to begin her early morning wake-ups. That night, Neil had actually tried being nice and he had held her hand down the mountain. She could only imagine what sorts of things he'd have the courage to do now that they were officially dating. Absentmindedly, Rio twisted the ring on her finger and she couldn't help but grin.

She laughed as she bounded up the mountain, Neil grumbling a ways behind her, ducking his head into his scarf and pushing his fists into his pockets in an attempt to stay warm. "Come on, slowpoke!" she said, turning to him and walking backwards for a bit.

"It's way too cold," he mumbled into his scarf. He got out of himself to say to her, "You should watch out or else you'll trip."

Rio turned to face forward, letting out a loud laugh. "I'm not gonna t—"

It was at that point that her feet tripped on a rock and she fell forward. She let out a yelp of surprise. Neil was at her side immediately.

"What did I say?" he said to her, grabbing her arms to help her up. "You're always so clumsy, I knew this was going to happen."

Rio laughed as she used Neil to pick herself up. "Since I'm so clumsy maybe I should hold your hand on the way up then. That way, I won't trip."

She laughed harder when Neil blushed deep red into his scarf. He held out his hand to her. "You know, you don't have to ask. You're my girlfriend, after all."

At the word "girlfriend," Rio couldn't help but feel warm and giddy. It's been three seasons since they've first started going out, yet she's just as happy now as she was when Neil had first asked her. She took his hand and they continued the hike up to the top of the mountain.

"It never gets old," she said, not realizing she said it loud enough for him to hear.

"What never gets old?"

"Being called your girlfriend." She looked up at the man beside her and smiled softly at him. "It feels the same way three seasons in as it did that very first day."

Neil stopped walking and Rio glanced back at him in confusion. He looked right, left, and behind him before giving her one of his rare, ear-splitting grins and taking her into his arms, sighing as his head buried itself into her hair, hands on her lower back, pulling her closer.

Rio's heart was thumping in her chest. It was so rare that he smiled like that. In all the time they've been together, he's only ever smiled that widely about three times, this being his fourth. Every time, Rio would go weak in her knees and her heart would beat like crazy. She's glad she was in his arms at that moment. She definitely would have swooned otherwise.

All too soon, he pulled away, his face back into his neutral scowl, though his cheeks were definitely red. He pulled his scarf more firmly around him and took her hand in his once again, intertwining their fingers. "Let's keep going."

As they walked, Neil put both their hands in his pocket in an attempt to keep them warm. Rio marveled at how such a simple thing could make her so happy. They walked in silence the rest of the way.

When they got to the peak of the mountain, Rio broke away from him to twirl a bit under the starlight. She turned back to him, grinning like a schoolgirl to say, "It's so beautiful, Neil!"

He smiled gently at her as he approached her and re-wrapped her scarf around her neck. Rio shivered a little, and she wasn't sure if it was because of the cold. "Yeah," he said simply.

The two sat on the grass and watched the stars twinkle in the sky. They talked a little, but mostly just enjoyed each other's presence. After a while, Rio began to shiver.

"You cold?" he asked her, concerned.

"Yeah, a little," she said, her teeth chattering a little. "But I can handle it for a little while longer!" She really didn't want this night to end, just because she couldn't handle the cold.

Neil looked a little conflicted, even as she tried to grin at him to let him know she was okay. He was probably torn between bringing her home so she doesn't catch a cold and staying on the mountain as she wanted. After a while, he sighed as though making a decision. "Guess it can't be helped."

She looked at him quizzically for a second before letting out a surprised squeak when he reached out and pulled her onto his lap, wrapping his arms securely around her. Rio's breath caught in her throat as her heart stopped, then ramped up again when she saw how close his face was. He looked down at her, an undeniable gentleness in his usually sharp red eyes. Rio melted under his gaze.

They stayed like this, just staring at each other. Then, a little smirk played on the corner of his lips. "I thought we came here to look at the stars." His arms squeezed her a little closer to his body.

Her hand clutched at his coat in response. His face was looking very close. "Speak for yourself."

"I don't know," he said softly, his warm breath caressing her cheek, "I think I have a great view right here."

His head moved ever closer and Rio closed her eyes in anticipation. The next moment, his lips were on hers and it was like time had stopped. Suddenly, the wind was no longer blowing. The cold no longer bit at her, her body no longer shook. Instead, she melted, as the sun seemed to burst behind her closed eyes. At this moment, it was only him, her, and the warmth against her body.

Their first kiss was sweet, chaste, and soft. His lips were slightly chapped, but gentle, like an alpaca's wool. They moved against her and she couldn't help but respond. His hand came up to caress her cheek and tilt her head one way as he tilted his the other and their kiss deepened.

When it ended and they pulled away, the world seemed to move again. The stars danced across the sky and the wind resumed blowing. But Rio herself did not budge. Instead, she whispered, "Wow."

There was a fire in his expression and Rio, for a moment, felt like he was going to kiss her again, but he closed his eyes and the fire was gone. He pulled away, slightly. "Come on, we should probably head back, before you catch a cold."

Rio was still speechless, dazed at the amazing kiss he had given her. He gently pushed her off of him and stood up, patting his clothes so as to brush off any dirt. Rio still sat in the grass, staring up at her boyfriend, her expression unreadable. He looked down at her, holding out his hand. "What's wrong? We need to get back."

"You kissed me," Rio said, absentmindedly taking his hand and pulling herself up.

Neil blushed and turned away slightly. "Yeah." Their fingers intertwined as if on instinct.

"It was amazing," she said bluntly.

If it was possible, his blush deepened, but she can see that he was happy. Her whole body warmed despite the chill. "I can kiss you again," he offered, "but I need to take you home first."

And so he did. They walked down the mountain, silent but comfortable. And when they reached her front porch, he bent down to press his lips softly against hers. For Rio, it was exactly like the first time and she was speechless yet again when he pulled away.

He straightened and coughed nervously, but didn't let go of her hand. "I'll…see you tomorrow?"

Her senses recovered a little faster this time and she grinned mischievously at him. "Only if you'll kiss me again," she answered teasingly.

It was then that Rio knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was definitely rubbing off on him, because he smirked mischievously back at her. He bent down and his breath against her ear made her shiver. He whispered, "I'll kiss you as many times as you want, Rio."

He stepped away, still wearing his cute, devilish little smirk before walking away. Rio walked into her home, still dazed. She collapsed onto her bed, not even bothering to undress. Her heart was still pounding in her chest and her cheeks were impossibly hot, and she's certain it wasn't because of the cold. The whole night replayed in her mind over and over again, his mind numbing kisses (there were two of them! _Two!_ Just thinking about them made her blush) taking up most of her thoughts.

She fell asleep, right then and there, and dreamt of Neil.

* * *

When Neil was passionate about something, he was _really_ passionate about it.

For example, his animals. For the longest time, his animals were his greatest passion and he spent days and days raising them, caring for them with everything he had. They loved him and he loved them, too. They were the only living things that he was ever able to open up his heart to. When he was upset, it was to his animals he would go. When he was happy, it was with his animals he would celebrate.

Even when Echo Town was dying all around him. Even when the farm that was its greatest income slowly fell into ruin. He had always believed that as long as he had his animals, he wouldn't need anything else.

But now, it seemed that he had one other thing that he was passionate about and that was Rio.

It was Spring 20, a Saturday. She woke up to the sound of her alarm clock at seven o' clock sharp. Yawning a little, she stretched and got out of bed. She had actually thought about waking up early to wake up her boyfriend, but she had been busy with her chores the past few days. It was the final stretch of the season before the crop festival and her crops were just beginning to mature and she had begun the hard work of harvesting them. It took up nearly her whole days; she barely had enough time to visit Neil in the evenings, let alone wake him up in the morning. But with most of her harvesting done, she was able to sleep in a little to regain some of her energy.

Getting herself ready for the day, she grabbed her hat and headed out the door, winding herself up for another hard, long day at work. But she stopped. Because in front of her, her rows and rows of crops were all watered, the ones ready to harvest were harvested and placed in neat bundles next to her door.

She looked toward her barn and saw that the doors were open. Alarmed, she ran over to the barn door and burst through, only to find her boyfriend caring for her animals, brushing her herd of cows and yaks and stroking them gently.

"Neil!" she called, surprised.

He looked up from his work and smiled at her. "Morning, Rio."

She opened and closed her mouth, trying to find the words she was looking for and came up with, "My…chores…?"

He chuckled at her lack of eloquence. "I finished them up for you." He patted the head of the nearest llama saying, "Now, I'm just waiting on your pets to bring them outside to graze." At that, one of Rio's dogs entered the barn. "And there they are."

She just stared at him in surprise. He chuckled, "Happy birthday, Rio."

"Neil, what time did you even wake up to do this? Aren't you tired?"

His smile disappeared, and she immediately regretted saying what she did. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away, his expression changing into an upset scowl. "I wanted to do something for you," he mumbled.

Her eyes widened and her heart dropped when she realized what she did. Did she just ruin the day for him? For them? She grabbed his arm in both of hers and said, "I'm thankful, really! I'm just worried. I know these past couple of days hadn't been easy on you, either." And it was true. This was the time of year when impregnated animals who had been in heat two seasons ago were now giving birth. Neil hadn't been getting home until late at night, further limiting the time they could spend together.

She held her breath, hoping he wouldn't clam up and storm off like he sometimes would when he was really upset. But her anxiety was calmed when he turned back to her with a weak smile. "If it's for you, I don't mind being a little tired."

Rio grinned. They really had come a long way. It's been nearly a year since they started going out. They'd get into all kinds of misunderstandings in the beginning, but now they were getting into the habit of giving and forgiving, calming down and reasoning out their conflicts instead of getting emotional. Rio was confident that she was more in love with him now than ever before.

She eased his hand out of his pocket and brought his palm to her lips. "Thank you for today." She pressed a kiss into his open palm. She heard his breath hitch in his throat. "This really is a great birthday present." She kissed his wrist, then moved to throw her arms around his neck and press her lips against his.

His arms encircled her waist and pulled her close before letting go. "There are still lots of chores I hadn't gotten to yet," he said, a little breathlessly. "I thought we could do them together so you could end early today."

They spent the rest of the morning together. Rio was laughing more today than she had for the past few weeks and she wondered if farming would be this much fun every day if she had Neil there to work with her. That would only be if they got married, though.

Rio blushed as she bent to weed out some stray plants around her growing potatoes. She's been thinking a lot about getting married lately and it was entirely Neil's fault. He'd been especially romantic recently, holding her from behind while she did her dishes, pressing kisses along her neck whenever they were alone. Sometimes, he'd lift her from the floor and carry her into her home to dump her on her bed. He'd leave her with a kiss that would leave her breathless before saying farewell and leaving for the night. She often thought about what it would be like if he didn't dump her on _her_ bed, but instead on _their_ bed. Just the thought of it made her blush even deeper.

"Hey, you feeling alright? You're looking really red," Neil's voice said from beside her.

Rio jumped in surprise. She had been in such deep thought that she didn't notice he was there.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just thinking about stuff," she said a little sheepishly.

"Stuff?" He tilted his head a little at her and the action reminded her so much of the little brown birds from the forest that she almost squealed at his cuteness. She fought the urge to press another kiss to his lips. Rio shook her head slightly. What was wrong with her? She was acting like a cat in heat.

"Just random things," she said off-handedly. She continued to weed.

She was so determined to focus on the task at hand so as to discourage her boyfriend from pressing the issue that she didn't notice the little smirk that bloomed on the animal dealer's lips. "Random things like…me?"

Her cheeks heated even more. "No," she tried to say, vehemently.

But Neil didn't believe her. He let out a laugh before grabbing her chin to turn her toward him and kissed her. She immediately leaned into him, throwing her arms around his neck, but before they really got into it, he pulled away, leaving her breathless. She pouted. He was such a tease.

He grinned. "We should finish up."

It was lunchtime when they finally finished her chores. Rio placed the last bundle of turnips and hauled them into Emma's shipping bin. She stepped away and stretched. "Ugh, I'm starving!" She looked at Neil. "Let's go eat!"

"Actually, wanna head to my place? I made you lunch there."

When they got to his place, he pulled out the food from his fridge and heated it up. She sat at his table and watched him navigate the kitchen. She wondered if they were married, would she watch him like this every day? Would he watch her? The thought of it made her happy.

After lunch, Rio grabbed Neil's hand. "Today, I felt like I got multiple birthday presents."

Neil smiled gently at her and said, "Well, you're getting one more."

Confused, she watched as he opened his fridge and pulled out…a chocolate cake.

"Chocolate cake?" she said. "But you hate chocolate."

He grimaced a little, but said, "You love it, though. So I had Rod help me make some." He placed the cake in front of her. She drooled a little at the sight.

"It's missing one thing." He reached into his pocket.

Rio lit up. "Right! Candles!"

But it wasn't candles. What Neil had placed in the cake was a striking, blue feather.

Rio's brain fizzled out. She looked from the feather, then to Neil, and back to the feather. Then, back to Neil.

"Are you asking…?"

Neil nodded, smiling a little. "Rio, will you marry me?"

Rio picked up the feather, then threw herself at Neil. "Yes!" she squealed. "Yes, yes, a thousand times, yes!"

He laughed as he wrapped his arms around her. "Good. 'Cause I really don't know what I would have done if you said no."

Later that night, Rio was sitting with him at his sofa, tucked safely into his side. She held the feather in her hands, admiring its beauty. "Neil? Do you secretly like chocolate or something?"

"What?"

"I mean, the first time, it was hot chocolate. This time, it was chocolate cake." She twisted her body to look up at him. "I see a pattern."

"No, chocolate is disgusting," he deadpanned. "But…well, I love you, so I thought it would be worth it."

The next moment, her lips were on his and Neil couldn't help but sigh. Yeah. It was definitely worth it.

* * *

A/N: I'm honestly a little embarrassed to post this. It feels kinda shameless! This is probably the most mindlessly fluffy thing I have ever written. I thought _she smells like sunshine_ was over-the-top, but this just completely blows it out of the water. Well, anyway, I figure any self-respecting fanfic author would have at least one embarrassingly fluff romance and I guess this is it for me. But if even just one person likes this, I'd call it a job well done!


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